Luke 12:48b (NIV)
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the
one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
My level
of anxiety and concern has risen to new levels. Each day, as I look at the
current news, my heart sinks farther. As a country and as a society we have
lost our moorings and we are drifting into dangerous territory.
I had
the privilege of traveling to Ukraine sixteen times, encouraging the church there
and sharing the love of Jesus with the Ukrainian people. The war in Ukraine has
been a genuine heart break for me and many others. Recent events have caused me
to despair over the course we are taking in regards to Ukraine and its people.
In my
daily devotions, I have been working my way through Jeremiah. Each day, as I
read, I can see the parallels between the people of Israel and Judah and our
own nation. We are guilty of worshipping false gods, of rejecting God’s moral
and ethical law, and of seeking our benefit over the benefit of others. As a
church in America, we have become complacent and complicit. It is time for some
honest and humble reflection.
I am not
one who casts stones at the church in America. We have had many failures, but
we also have many genuinely committed believers who are quietly, faithfully
living out their faith. Bashing “the church” is not helpful or constructive.
But honestly taking stock of where we are and where we need to go is essential.
Our hope is not in a particular political system or party, but in the truth and
the power of the Gospel. The church has always been its weakest when it has
closely aligned itself with those in political power. It has been its strongest
when it has lived out its faith in practical ways, independent of political
affiliation.
The
people of Isreal and Judah, in the days of Jeremiah, went through the outward
actions of their religion, but their hearts were not in the right place. They
assumed that as long as they kept up the façade of following God they would be
blessed. That was not the way God saw it. In one place God made this statement:
they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. There are many
in our country who are giving lip service to God, but their hearts are far from
Him.
When
Solomon was dedicating the Temple in Jerusalem, God made a promise to him.
2 Chronicles
7:11-16 (NIV)
When Solomon had finished
the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out
all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, the
LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have
chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
"When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts
to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are
called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin
and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the
prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so
that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
We no
longer worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, but we still worship at God’s
Temple, His church. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and
that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will
destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 1
Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) How we live our daily lives is a reflection of our
commitment to God. We honor God’s temple when we live according to his word. We
dishonor God’s temple when we give in to the ways of the world. And so, just as
God gave Solomon a pathway for renewal for his nation, so God has given us a
pathway to renewal for our nation. If we will honestly repent of our own
failures and seek Him with sincere hearts, He will heal own land.
We have
been blessed to live in a country that has allowed God’s church to flourish. We
have taken this privilege for granted. We have allowed ourselves to but caught
up in political squabbles and combatting ideologies. Instead of taking our cues
from God’s word, we have listened too much to loud, political voices. Following
God’s word will not make us popular or powerful in people’s eyes, but it will
make us right in God’s eyes.
There is
a path open to us of grace, compassion, and mercy. It is not the path of compromise
with sin nor is it the path of legalistic self-righteousness. It is the path
that Jesus walked. He never condoned sin, yet offered grace to the sinner. He
called for justice, but also offered mercy. Is it possible for us to find this
path again?
We, as a
nation and as a church, have been given much. Because God has entrusted us with
much, He also requires much from us. As a nation and as a church we have the
responsibility to steward what God has given us for His glory and for the benefit
of others. Turning inward and focusing only on our needs and wants is not a
part of God’s plan for us.
Each of
us needs to begin by humbling ourselves before God, asking for His forgiveness,
and asking for wisdom and discernment to navigate the journey before us. Then
we need to pray that God would humble our leaders and give them wisdom and discernment
to lead us in the way God would have us to go.
Philippians 2:3-4
(NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of others.
